OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in North Dakota.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
North Dakota walleye guides on Lake Sakakawea and Devils Lake may pursue OUPV Inland for paid-charter compliance.
The nearest USCG Regional Examination Center is St. Louis, MO. Compare centers and appointment rules in the USCG REC locations guide.
Major North Dakota charter hubs
The Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea, its impoundment behind Garrison Dam, are North Dakota's link to the 33 CFR 83.03(n) Western Rivers definition; Devils Lake sits in a closed basin that does not drain to the Missouri, and is not claimed here as Western Rivers water. No Part 80 demarcation line exists in the state, so everything is inland water under 83.03(q). Whether a reservoir this far up the system carries the Western Rivers provisions is an OCMI determination and not something to infer from the river's name. Most North Dakota candidates are documenting service earned elsewhere; the record should name the water, the vessel and the route for each period, because REC St. Louis evaluates those and not the applicant's state.
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in North Dakota. Its 106 sections cover the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the Pacific islands and Alaska; a state with no coast has no section, which is itself the answer.
Western Rivers (the Missouri River) are defined at 33 CFR 83.03(n) and carry Inland Rules provisions the rest of inland water does not: 83.09(a)(ii), 83.14(d), 83.15(b) and the towing-light exception at 83.24(j).
This decides which rulebook you steer by, not where your credential may operate: the route limit is the 46 CFR Part 7 Boundary Line, and the two lines are not drawn in the same place. How the two lines differ · International Rules · Inland Rules
33 CFR Part 80 and the Part 83 definitions above read from eCFR on 12 Aug 2026. Any specific water is a determination for the cognizant Coast Guard Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.
Not sure the trip needs a credential at all? The captain's-license trigger guide.
Document your sea service
Pass the medical & drug test
CG-719K and CG-719P — medical certificate guide.
Get a TWIC + CPR / First Aid
Submit your application to the NMC
Pass the exam at REC St. Louis, MO
Or an approved course provider — what it covers and the score you need.
There is no North Dakota captain's license to get — you earn a federal USCG credential, in the five steps set out above, and sit the exam at REC St. Louis, MO.
The same — a federal Merchant Mariner Credential endorsement, valid in every state. North Dakota licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by North Dakota: 18 for OUPV, 19 for most Master endorsements, 21 for higher-tonnage and ocean routes (46 CFR 11.201(e)).
At REC St. Louis, MO once the NMC approves the application, or through an approved course provider that administers the exam itself.
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